In my opinion, Mashiro Kazahana was dull as dirt and Manshiro from the Mai-Otome manga is diverse character involved in a more fanservice filled AU. In Mai-Otome's anime, she kinda falls in between my feelings on her other incarnations.

You will notice in that clip that Mashiro was told at an early age (an age we don't know better) that she is only heir to Windbloom, this immediately goes to head. Those who didn't fancy her attitude problem are forgetting that she was hand-fed everything her entire life. If she wanted her flowers changed, she got it. If she wanted a ride on a slim Sakomizu, she got it. Like all good things, the bad must immediately follow to challenge troubled characters as Mashiro listened to the vicious criticisms of her attitude and rumors that she is not the real princess (she wasn't Queen yet in the past). Mashiro has a tough exterior with her brash arrogant talk but the truth can hurt even the strongest person. So to share my feelings on Mashiro for this thread, I must say I feel sorry for her. Would you like shit talked about you, even when it might be true? This gives Mashiro a chance to change with Arika Yumemiya's assistance and their promise to make a difference as Queen and Otome respectfully. Mashiro was literally hated by her people because she never listened to them or cared for the poor people living in the slums. Inspiration by Aswald's Midori gave her the drive she needed to become a great leader.

To wrap things up, her upbringings are a good excuse to her bratty nature. At least she was smart enough to realize things needed to change. Thank you Prince of Zipang, Arinko-chan, Midori and Aoi Senoh, who never sold out her queen (remember that scene? Yeah, my respect for Aoi skyrocketed).

So, share your thoughts on Queen Mashiro. :)

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

I prefer Otome Mashiro to the Hime version. Not only does she have a more... 3d(?) character, she's also more human. I haven't really read the Otome Manga, but when I heard about Manshiro, the first abbreviation that came to my head was WTF!... and then OMG...

Anywho, watching her slowly sort out her priorities was interesting. Thank you Chie (or was it Aoi) for sending Arika over when Mashiro was having a bit of a mope over Akira and Takumi. She managed to turn what could have been a negative response to that days experience into positive energy.

When I watched Otome for the first time, at first I didn't feel sorry for Mashiro after she heard what everyone thought about her, taking it as tough love; you've been doing things wrong, here's what everyone thinks, what are you going to do about it? But on the second and third watch, the times where I really take in what's happening to all the characters, I felt sorry for her. Yes, she needed someone to guide her in the right direction, but she didn't need to hear all the crap her people were saying, those very same people who spoiled her and taught her that it's ok to be selfish.

The Mai-Otome manga is the Rocky IV of the Mai-Multiverse, over the top to the extreme. If you're willing to give it a try, grab it from our library section in the general forum. :)

Nice thoughts on Queen Mashiro, the tough love thing served it's purpose to make her a little aware of her faults. If nobody gave her the guidance she needed (or realized the seriousness of Nagi's take over) she would of continued to sweep problems under the rug.

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.